Tuesday 26 August 2014

Gliders - Meiji Shrine Competition

One of the "classic" tourist locations of Tokyo is Meiji Jingu (Meiji Shrine).  
In December 1942 the 13th Meiji Shrine National Training Games were held. Among the various sports a glider competition was also held for the third consecutive year with groups from all over Japan. 
 
In the photo below representatives of the glider groups parade in the "Meiji Jingu Gaien Kyogijo".

The parade was followed by a visit to Meiji Shrine.

The glider contest took place in the central glider field of Dai Nippon Hiko Kyokai (Grate Japan Aviation Society) in Ishioka city, Ibaraki prefecture. On November 1st, the chairman of the Games, HIH Prince Mikasa-no-miya, visited the glider field with his wife and wished all the glider pilots the best and to become soon "Wild Eagles".
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The programme started with the primary gliders.
Note mount Tsukuba in the background.


Then it was time for the secondary.

 
 
 
 
 
 
And finally the soarers.
 




 




3 comments:

Anonymous said...

George, in the past, you've highlighted prewar aerial events like the Meiji Shrine Competition and since these events were covered in the press, were there any newsreel crews doing likewise and are there any newsreel archives that might have some surviving footage?

J Godwin
nucinfo@aol.com

Dan G said...

Very cool! Thank you for sharing!

Dan G. said...

Are there any current glider clubs in Japan that have made flying reproductions/replicas of these aircraft? Thx again.